


Schrodinger's Cat

by Bombus -Pascuorum (webslinger9_5am), webslinger9_5am



Series: The Trinity Test [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, Gen, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, author typical swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2020-03-29 09:29:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19017136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/webslinger9_5am/pseuds/Bombus%20-Pascuorum, https://archiveofourown.org/users/webslinger9_5am/pseuds/webslinger9_5am
Summary: Seventeen years and thirteen days after Number Five's deal with the Commission, we see our heroes leading their own lives. Separate but not apart. They're going to have to work together once again if they want to save their world. Threats both old and new linger in the distance and always the apocalypse looms.





	1. elements

**Author's Note:**

> Tags will be updated as the story progresses.  
> Chapter Title: Elements by Lindsey Stirling

**March 20, 2019**

Vanya slid the brick of resin along her bow and made sure her violin was tuned before flipping her folder of music open. She lifted her violin to her chin and started to play.

 

Luther groaned as his alarm buzzed at him angrily from his bedside table. He reached over to fumble it off without looking and rocked up into a sitting position. A squinting glare at his room told him that it was, indeed, sadly morning. He stood with a sigh and shuffled around the space- small, though considerably larger than a space station, especially given the fact that he  _ hadn’t  _ at any point been given experimental serum to save his life. 

  
  


Diego ducked behind the door of his squad car as several shots pinged off the top of it and one punched a hole through the glass. He shot a venomous glare through the front seats, “You just  _ had  _ to open your big mouth.”

 

Allison walked slowly along the red carpet, smiling for the cameras on her way into the premier. 

 

On the other side of the car, Klaus just shrugged, similarly crouched behind his door, “Were you really expecting anything different?”

Diego rolled his eyes and peered over the door only to flinch back down when more shots rang out, “If I die here, I’m singing Taylor Swift songs twenty four seven until you join me.”

Klaus shot him a grimace, “You’re bluffing.” He frowned and tilted his head back with a groan, “Ugh.  _ Fine!”  _ His hands flared blue and the asshole who’d been shooting at them shrieked.

“Freeze!” Diego jumped to his feet and stormed past the car with his gun out and aimed toward the center of the group of blue figures, “NYPD! Put your weapon on the ground!”

The perp’s gun came skidding across the asphalt towards Diego’s feet.

 

Luther sank into a kitchen chair with a fresh cup of coffee and a contented sigh.The house was empty aside from him, though one glance at the calendar on the fridge told him that would soon change.

 

Diego frog marched the kid- he was maybe in his early twenties if Diego was being generous- into the station.

Eudora looked up from her desk with a raised eyebrow, “Ghosts again?”

 

Allison descended the steps to her waiting car, already excited at the prospect of the coming week. It was the first family reunion she was going to get to bring Claire to since she was in diapers.

 

Klaus burst through the front doors of the precinct and Diego sighed.

Eudora smirked.

“Patch! Your boyfriend threatened me with Taylor Swift again!” Klaus called across the room.

The perp snickered and Diego shoved him onward with a muttered, “Okay.”

“Don’t forget we’re going by the house tomorrow night,” Eudora called after him.

 

Vanya drew her song to a close and slowly lowered her instrument.

In the third row of the otherwise empty concert hall, Mom and Ben clapped with huge grins while her father did the same with a sincere smile.

Vanya’s lips twitched upward and she gave a small bow before moving to put away her violin.

 

“That piece is really coming along,” Ben said from beside her as they walked down the street to where the car was parked.

Vanya smiled, “Thanks. I’ve been having a little trouble with the notes toward the end.”

Ben nodded to show he was listening but didn’t really have anything to add. Music had never really become his thing the second time around. He’d left that to Vanya.

 

**April 2, 2019**

Jack materialized in a flash of blue and immediately covered the lower half of her face with a cough as her eyes stung. All around her, the world burned.

She lowered her arm once the bout subsided and took in her surroundings more closely, glancing down at the scanner while her grip tightened on the briefcase at her side, "Shit."


	2. Turn of a Friendly Card (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agnes is tired of time agents coming to mess with her doughnut shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Turn of a Friendly Card (Part 1) by The Alan Parsons Project

Vanya fingered the mug of tea in her hands as she looked at the portrait above the fireplace. In the original timeline, it had been Five sitting alone, cold and bored. This time around, it was all of the siblings together with Five smiling from between Ben and Vanya. Klaus was sprawled across the bottom while an exasperated Diego stood next to Mom. 

Pogo joined her by the fireplace with a soft click of his cane, “Hello, Miss Vanya.”

She turned with a flickering smile, “Hi, Pogo. Any word from the others?”

“Allison should be arriving later this afternoon,” He replied, “Klaus and Diego will be by with Miss Patch once their shifts are over. They should all be home in time for dinner.”

Vanya nodded and tapped the side of her cup.

“He’ll be back when he’s ready, Miss Vanya,” Pogo said gently.

She flashed him a tight smile and backed away a step, “I’m going to go see what Ben’s doing.”

 

Hazel picked up the used mug and wiped under it before collecting the rest of the dishware from the counter and going back to the kitchen with it.

This was, of course, why he only caught the edge of the blue flash from the dining area.

Hazel straightened and was already heading for the door when Agnes let out a alarmed, “Hazel!” 

She had the handgun from under the register drawn and trained on something across the counter when he drew even with the door frame. 

Hazel raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Jack stood with her back to them, trying and failing to hold onto a flailing child in ragged clothing while her briefcase sat toppled on its side near her feet, “Come on! Stop- bloody hell!”

The kid kicked her in the shins and jerked away from her grip but still wound up puking on her shoes.

Jack twisted and shoved him towards the counter, sending him skidding along the floor until he disappeared in a flash of blue.

The couple in the booth by the door got to their feet with yelps of surprise.

He reappeared beneath the donut case behind Agnes with a thump, “Get the Hell out of my donut shop,” Agnes growled.

Jack grimaced and scooped up her briefcase, casting Hazel a disgruntled look, “We’re even.” 

She promptly zapped away.

Agnes sagged with relief, lowering the gun, then turned to the couple, “Sorry about that.”

Hazel came out of the back office and put a hand on her shoulder, “You okay?”

She glanced at him and nodded before they both turned to look at the kid, “Is that…  _ Five?” _

Said kid stared back with glassy eyes, partially obscured by a frizzy mess that would be dark brown if it weren’t for all the ash. He was shivering despite wearing a scarf, sweater and padded vest.

Hazel dropped into a crouch him and the kid flinched violently against the cabinet, “Shit. Yeah. You wanna-” He gestured helplessly at the kid.

Agnes nodded, moving away, “I’ll call Grace.”

Hazel stared after her for a beat then sighed. That hadn’t been what he meant at all, but oh, well.

Five was watching him with a weary unfocused gaze when Hazel turned back to the kid.

Hazel offered him a half smile, “I don’t suppose you wanna tell me what happened.”

Hazel ducked his head in an attempt to see Five’s face more clearly when he didn’t get a response.

Five’s gaze snapped to him without a hint of recognition in it.

He caught a glimpse of reddened skin at Five’s temples right before he caught the kid’s shoe with his nose.

As anyone would, Hazel fell on his ass with a curse and put a hand over his face.

Five, the little shit, stayed right were he was, seemingly trying to merge with the cabinet while coughing up his lungs.

“What the  _ Hell!” _ Hazel groused. His nose wasn’t bleeding- or broken- thank God, but dammit, why  _ him _ ? “I’m trying to  _ help,  _ asshole.”

Agnes poked her head out of the office with mild concern, “Everything okay in here.”

Hazel looked over at her with one hand still over his lower face, “Yeah. He kicked me.”

She quirked a brow but went back to her phone call.

Hazel frowned at Five, “What’d they do to you?”

Five’s eyes zeroed back in on Hazel’s face and the former assassin immediately wished they didn’t when they didn’t focus right and he rasped, “I don’t know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, dear.  
> This was 2000 words long, but finding a song for it was too hard so I cut it where it made sense. The next chapter will be up once I figure out a song for THAT. I might have to split it again.  
> Feel free to voice questions or concerns. :)


	3. WHEN I WAS OLDER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five comes home. Claire meets two of her uncles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: WHEN I WAS OLDER (Music inspired by the film ROMA) by Billie Eilish

Claire let out a jaw-cracking yawn as Allison got into the cab next to her and smiled, “You excited to see your aunt and uncles?”

The nine year old nodded, scrubbing a hand across her face, “Will Spaceboy be there?”

“Yeah, Spaceboy will be there,” Allison said softly, “Don’t fall asleep. We don’t have that far to go.”

Claire let out another yawn and nodded.

Allison chuckled and told the cabby their address.

 

Luther flipped the keys to the family car in his hand before slipping them in his pocket and opening the door to Griddy’s for Mom. 

There was no one in sight when they got inside- that is until Agnes popped up from behind the counter like a daisy.

“He’s over here. Careful. He kicked Hazel in the face,” She said.

Luther frowned and followed his mother until they reached the counter. He froze. Mom had been the one to answer the phone and she hadn’t done much explaining on the way over. Now it looked like she left one major detail out, “Five?”

His brother’s gaze snapped up and his eyes went round, “Luther?”

He could only stare in shock. He honestly hadn’t expected Five to walk away from whatever deal he made with the Commission. He could tell even before he made it that Five hadn’t expected to either.

Mom crouched by Luther’s feet with the first aid kit and smiled, “Hello, F-”

Five flinched and scrambled back a foot.

Luther took a step forward, catching his mother’s hurt expression in the corner of his eye, “Five, it’s okay. It’s just Mom.”

Five looked up at Luther, though his gaze kept sliding to their mother like he was reluctant to let her out of his sight, “Where’s dad?”

Luther sighed and slowly sank into a crouch between Five and Mom, “He’s back at home. We didn’t tell him we were coming to get you.”

Five frowned.

“We came straight here when Agnes called,” Luther continued quietly, “She said you didn’t look too good. Are you okay?”

Five’s face crumpled and he took a shaky breath, but he didn’t cry. He shook his head.

“Can you let Mom take a look at you?” Luther asked gently.

Five’s gaze flickered to the left like he could see past his brother and he nodded reluctantly.

Luther smiled and shifted so Mom could move closer.

 

Allison walked through the foyer with Claire dragging her feet beside her, “We’re here!”

“Aunt Vanya?” Claire called.

They were met with silence.

Allison frowned and let go of Claire’s hand to peek into the living room.

“Mommy, where is everyone?”

She shrugged, “It’s a big house. Maybe they’re in their-”

Mom’s heels clicked rapidly as she opened the front door. 

“Spaceboy!” Claire crowed.

Luther sent her a distracted smile as he walked toward the stairs holding a kid and an IV bag.

“Hey, mom, who’s that?” Claire asked, moving to follow before Allison caught her arm.

“I don’t-” Allison trailed off, staring after them.

Claire huffed and slipped out of her grip. 

Allison only really noticed when she made the first steps, “Claire don’t! Let you’re grandmother and Uncle Luther take care of it.”

Claire, predictably, kept going, “But I wanna know who it is!”

Allison sighed and started up the stairs.

 

Claire was chattering happily away to Luther and a dazed Five when Allison got to the infirmary.

Luther cast her a smile before adjusting his hold on Five’s shoulder’s and returning his attention to Claire. The IV bag was on a stand now, allowing Luther to support Five with a sort of half hug. 

“And I got it fixed,” Claire declared proudly.

Allison watched a tired smile flicker across Five’s face while their mom applied a sort of paste to one of his temples.

“Do you help your mom a lot?” Luther asked.

Claire nodded, “Yeah, sometimes. She doesn’t let me when she’s at work, though.”

Allison didn’t quite catch what happened, but Mom shifted in her peripheral vision and then Five was flinching into Luther’s side.

Mom tisked, “Hold still dear. I’m almost done.”

Claire moved over to her side.

“Claire,” Allison warned.

It went ignored, “You don’t have to be scared, Uncle Five. It’s just grandma.”

“Claire, sweety, let grandma take care of Uncle Five,” Allison said.

Luther caught her eye and shook his head.

Allison made a confused gesture and he inclined his head toward Five.

“But I’m helping,” Claire protested.

Allison sighed and her daughter took it as permission to offer Five a hand.

“Mom says holding hands helps when you’re scared sometimes,” Claire said by way of explanation.

Allison and Luther exchanged a worried look. From what they remembered of their wayward brother, that would normally get the hand slapped away as the least violent outcome.

Grace pulled away to put up the cream she’d been using up as Five shakily took Claire’s hand.

Allison covered her mouth to hide her smile even though Five looked too out of it to kill her for it, “I’m going to go let Vanya and Ben know.”

Luther nodded absently. He looked like he might start melting, “They’re in the library.”

“Do you like stories?”

Allison chuckled to herself and started down the hall.

 

Claire watched her uncle track her grandmother as she moved around the room. She still didn’t quite understand how he was supposed to be her uncle. Mom had said he’d time traveled and that he was really fifty eight or something but he looked like he was only a few years older than Claire herself.

Right now, he also looked tired and scared, even if none of the adults were really addressing it beyond Uncle Luther giving him a hug- But that didn’t count because Uncle Five needed that to stay upright. He didn’t want to lay down for some reason.

Claire had come in toward the end of it but she’d still seen the look on his face right before Uncle Luther helped him up. He made it every time he looked at grandma too, but he tried to hide it. 

He’d also relaxed some when she’d started talking so she’d been trying to keep up a stream of dialogue but that was getting hard.

“What kind of stories do you like?” She asked.

His gaze flicked to meet hers and then he watched Grandma carefully take off his shoes while he answered in a whispery voice, “I’m not impartial to fairytales.”

Claire nodded dutifully as Uncle Luther hissed and muttered a horrified, “Jesus, Five,” That had her looking down at dirty feet that were scraped raw and still bleeding in places.

She promptly looked back up and decided not to think about it, “I like superhero stories, myself.” She frowned. Did that make sense? Didn’t matter. She had his attention again.

“Hold on a second, Claire,” Uncle Luther said gently, “Five, what happened?”

Uncle Five went tense  _ immediately _ .

Claire gave his hand a squeeze to remind him she was there and he relaxed a smidge.

“I ran around outside without shoes,” He said with a frown that clearly said Uncle Luther was an idiot.

Claire could tell there was more to it than that, though she  _ did _ agree it was a stupid question. Most people didn’t look like they wanted to cry after running around outside barefoot and she would know.

Uncle Luther seemed to agree but he took one look at Claire and didn’t push.

Claire frowned, “You can talk. I’m not a kid.” 

Uncle Five’s lips twitched and this time it was Uncle Luther’s turn to frown, “You’re nine.” He didn’t sound a hundred percent certain about it. Claire supposed that was fair if Uncle Five really was fifty eight. 

She didn’t care though. He’d need to think twice if he really thought treating her like a kid was gonna fly.

“I’m a preteen,” She said factually, “That means I’m almost a teen. I can take it.”

Uncle Luther sighed.

Uncle Five was looking at her with amusement and what she would later learn was respect, “I landed in the apocalypse.”

Claire blinked. Well, whatever she’d been expecting, it definitely hadn’t been  _ that. _

“Shit,” Uncle Luther said.

“Language,” Claire, Uncle Five, and Grandma chorused.

Uncle Luther looked like he’d been smacked in the face.

Claire laughed and that got a smile out of Uncle Five that actually lasted a few seconds.

“It’s still on?” Uncle Luther asked, effectively replacing Uncle Five’s smile with a confused frown that he tried to snuff out.

“Yeah,” Uncle Five rasped quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Claire: YES! New uncle!
> 
> Questions, comments, and concerns are welcome. I'll answer what I can.
> 
> Up next: Claire and Five talk while Luther goes to find the others.


	4. Otherside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Klaus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Otherside by Avi Kaplan

Five and Claire watched Luther putter about in a vain attempt to be helpful. He gave up after a few minutes, leaving with a muttered, “I’m going to go let them know we moved you.”

“Uncle Five?”

His gaze shifted from the door to the fuzzy blur that was his niece. He raised his eyebrows to let her know he was listening.

“Why don’t you want Uncle Luther to know what happened while you were gone?” She asked.

Five’s heart skipped a beat and his gaze flicked to the door to make sure none of his siblings were about to burst in on them, “What makes you think I want to hide it from  _ him _ ? Maybe it was a robot apocalypse.” He had to clear his throat in the middle of the sentence but he got the point across.

Her head tilted forward and he could just make out the skeptical expression on her face, “Really?”

Five sighed and his grip tightened on the sheets covering his lap, “Okay, but you can’t tell anyone.”

She shifted in the armchair like she was going to protest.

“I mean it, Claire. It’ll just upset them. I’ll tell them the important stuff just- just not right now,” He continued.

Claire nodded.

Five quirked a little smile, “Guard the door.”

She hopped up to lean against the doorframe so she faced him, “We’re clear.”

“This probably isn’t going to make much sense,” He warned.

“Just start at the beginning,” She replied impatiently. She probably just thought this was another superhero story.

Oh, if only that were true.

He sighed, “As far as I can tell, I was discussing the science behind music with Vanya and her latest piece. Then the next thing I know…”

 

Five woke up to a fire burning through his veins as electricity danced along his skin. He tried to curl away from the sensation but something was holding him down. Five screamed and suddenly the burning stopped, leaving behind a prickling sensation that tingled on the ends of his nerves and coalesced into fiery itching at his temples.

Five took a shaky breath and cracked his eyes open to a sterile room not unlike the academy’s infirmary. He half expected to find his father on the other end of the controls when he managed to look around the room. 

What he found was worse.

Medical personnel with face masks shifted around the small room and loomed over another body identical to his.

“A deal’s a deal,” A woman said and Five’s gaze snapped to a woman with silver hair and a bloody red smile before someone was moving toward him and monitors were screeching. 

He took a hold of space and  _ pulled  _ to get away. He landed against a wall of cabinets with a thump and an IV pole he hadn’t noticed before came rolling at him even as the needle ripped out of his arm. Five clamped a hand down over the small spray of blood and pitched to the side as the pole crashed into the cabinet beside him.

“Someone get him!”

Five looked up to see the woman striding toward him and pulled again. 

He fell on ass in the parking lot to a strange building and only then realized the only thing he was wearing was a hospital scrubs. He climbed up on wobbly legs and pulled on space one final time, aiming for home. 

He stumbled and dropped to his knees in a world of smoke and ash at the base of a skeleton.

Five stared at the shell of his home, eyes wide with horror, before he shook himself and staggered back to his feet, “Vanya!” He yelled. His voice crackled in the middle.

The rocks and broken glass tore at his feet but he barely felt it as he stumbled through the bent gates of his home, “Vanya-” His voice caught in his throat and he stopped in the doorway to cough. 

When he looked, most of the ceiling was gone, littering the marble floor with dust and glassy debris. Beneath it, just visible was a dark trail of blood like something large had been dragged into the living room.

Five gingerly hobbled around the worst of the debris to the door and stopped.

 

“Is this the other part that you didn’t want to tell Uncle Luther?” Claire asked.

Five opened his eyes and startled when he found her sitting on the edge of his bed. This close, he could actually see the concern in her eyes.

“You’re crying,” She pointed out.

Five scrubbed the hand that wasn’t taped to the IV across his face and cleared his throat, “Yeah. This is the other part.”

She nodded and seemed to study him for a second, “Do you want a hug?”

Five’s lips quirked upward slightly, “Yeah. I think so.”

Claire smiled and lunged forward, wrapping her arms around him as much as she could with his back still pressed against the headboard.

Five hesitantly returned the hug with a wince. She was putting pressure on the growing bruise on his side.

Almost as if sensing his discomfort, Claire shifted so she wasn’t and squeezed tighter, “You’re still my uncle, Uncle Five.”

Five grinned and fresh tears rolled down his face, “Thanks. I think you’re my favorite niece.”

Claire pulled away to frown at him, “I’m your only niece.”

Five raised an eyebrow, “Are you?”

Claire’s eyes went wide, “I get cousins?”

He shrugged, “Maybe.”

Claire let out a squeal and tugged him up into another tight hug. He was starting to regret saying anything.

Five grimaced, “You can’t tell them or it won’t happen, though.”

“Okay,” Claire agreed, still grinning.

“Awe, that’s so cute!” An unnecessarily shrill voice said from the doorway.

Five squinted at his brother as Claire bounced across the room with an equally shrill, “Uncle Klaus!” and tackled him in a hug.

Klaus stumbled back a step and laughed, “Hey, squirt. Who left you to torment your Uncle Five?”

“Uncle Luther,” Claire answered.

Klaus nodded and patted her on the shoulder, “Well, why don’t you go see what’s taking him so long while your Uncle Five and I have a talk?”

Claire looked back at Five and gave her an encouraging nod despite knowing he probably  _ didn’t  _ want to talk to Klaus alone.

Klaus held his grin until she was gone, at which point, he let out a weary sigh and sank down on the end of the bed, “Dammit, Five, you idiot.”

Five frowned, “I don’t-”

Klaus’ gaze honed in on Five’s face and froze him to the spot, “I can see ghosts, asshole.”

Five felt the blood drain from his face, “I d- I can’t fix it.”

“I figured,” Klaus said his voice was really the only thing telling him he was close to crying, “I still want to know. God, we spent seventeen  _ years  _ thinking he was just on a  _ job  _ or something.”

With nothing else to add, Five nodded, “He wanted you to.”

Klaus huffed and stood, “I’m hugging you. Don’t stab me.”

Five had just enough time to wonder why he would try to stab his brother before he was wrapped in warmth and both brothers were crying.

 

Five inched closer to the man at the end of the blood trail with a frown and his vision doubled, on one side the Ben he knew, on the other, the young man at his feet- though much more alive. Five choked. Now that he was looking closer, he could see where the features in his brother had changed.

Tears blurred his vision and he looked around the rest of the room at the other bodies as he sank to the ground beside his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you going, Five, why are you telling a nine year old about murder and the end of the world? He's thirteen and it happened to him. From his perspective, she's pretty much a peer and can handle the information, but his siblings are still the idiots he grew up with and he KNOWS they can't take care of themselves.  
> So, I was basically like, Hey he's going to get away with this! OH WAIT! KLAUS!  
> It'll get happy again. I swear.  
> For the record, this is what happens when I write action.


	5. Paris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack just wants to kill something, okay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Paris by Caro Emerald

**Pudding Lane, London 2 September 1666 AD**

Jack took a drag of her cigarette as she watched her current partner, an elderly gentleman in a grey suit, scribble through a notebook, only stopping to occasionally poke at a brass contraption he’d pilfered from God knows where when she wasn’t looking, “Are you sure you don’t want help?” 

He shushed her and adjusted his position leaned against the old crate. How his shoulders weren’t cramping at the angle was anyone’s guess.

“We’re going to get caught,” She pointed out, panning her gaze over the narrow street. 

At the corner a horse lifted its tale and she grimaced.

The only response she received was a noncommittal hum that had her turning to look over his shoulder, “You forgot to subtract two.”

Number Five straightened and batted her away like a bloody toddler, “This would go faster if- Wait. Where?”

She leaned closer and pointed at the place in the page, keeping her cigarette clear of his face as she raised a judgmental eyebrow, “If only Dolores could see you now.”

He stiffened but went back to his equations to check things over before closing his book.

“Have everything you need?” She asked, more as a jab at how long he’d taken than actual curiosity.

“Maybe,” He stalked past her to the bakery entrance and tried the door. Locked. 

Jack sighed smoke, “I hope you weren’t intending for that to work. Why did you have me follow  _ you, _ anyway? Bathory’s probably finished with her part already.”

“I needed,” He paused with his hand near the latch and the key appeared in it with a faint pop, “someone to check my math.”

The latch gave way this time and he stepped inside, “And to get us noticed.”

“Why?” Jack moved to follow but he quickly doubled back, pushing her away from the entrance by a good few feet, “Stay back here, please.”

Jack quirked a brow and he went back inside, “At least  _ Bathory _ got to kill someone.”

Number Five slipped back out onto the street covered in white and swiped the cigarette from her hand.

“Oi, what do you think you’re going with that?” She protested immediately.

He glanced back at her then to the open door, “Magic.” 

The interior of the bakery went up in a whoosh of golden light that quickly spread.

Number Five idly stepped back so he was at her side as he watched the blaze, “To answer your question, language in Britain changes enough that your accent is completely unlike anything they currently have. Passersby notice us setting the fire, they report it to what little remains of an authority after the fire dies out. They say it was a couple of foreigners who started it. The story gets twisted in a game of telephone and Robert Hubert is hung for starting a fire in the name of the Pope when he was really on a ship in the middle of the North Sea. Thus sparking the destabilization of king Charles II’s reign.”

Jack stared at him for a moment. He could have just said they were overthrowing the government, “You brought coffee grounds from the Commission again, didn’t you.”

Number Five made a sound of disgust and stalked off down the road, “Let’s just find Bathory. I need a change of clothes.”

Jack followed with a smirk, stolen cigarette forgotten, “Stay away from the windows,” she called after him.

Number Five flipped her off without turning back.

A hiss and a thunk had her heels clicking to a stop and she turned.

Number Five didn’t appear to notice her absence.

Jack hit the side of the house and a section swung open. She grimaced as she pulled out the container but pushed any thoughts on how they managed to get them to appear nearby so accurately away. The last question she’d asked had landed her retrieving a sick thirteen year old from the end of the world. 

Suffice it to say, she shared Number Five’s opinion on Twinkies. 

She checked again to make sure he wasn’t going to pop up behind her and opened it.

 

**Order #: 19795988091701666                    Tube: 13                         Confirmation: 7123465**

**Collect Bathory and return to Commission for new assignment.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, large flour and sugar mills have been known to explode... Five basically just dumped out a sack of flour.  
> The Great Fire of London started in the bakery of Thomas Farriner shortly after midnight on the second of September in 1666. The fire spread with the help of a strong Easterly wind and was finally contained when it died down and the garrison from the Tower of London used gunpowder to create a firebreak on the sixth, four days later.  
> It destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 parishes, most City Authority buildings, and St Paul's Cathedral.   
> Afterwards, rumors spread about foreigners having set the fire and this was taken out on the French and Dutch immigrants.   
> Robert Hubert was a French watch maker who claimed to be an agent of the Pope. He originally claimed to have started the fire in Westminster but changed to Pudding Lane. It was found out after he was hung that he had been on a ship in the middle of the North Sea at the time of the fire and arrived in London two days after. His claims of affiliation with the Pope were used to target Catholic members of Charles II's court and wound up creating even more hysteria in the Popish Plot.  
> London was evacuated to prevent rioting and it was eventually rebuilt with little change to layout.  
> Wikipedia is my only source on this, so, as always, take it with a grain of salt.  
> Thanks for reading! :)


	6. Should I Stay or Should I Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus tattles.   
> *casually splits the chapter again*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash

“So, the apocalypse is still on,” Luther said as almost everyone else sat down on the couches in the center of the living room.

Klaus stayed by the double pillars near the door with a grim expression.

“What?” Allison asked in disbelief.

Vanya frowned, “But I have control of my powers.”

Luther shrugged, “Maybe something happens? I mean they’re tied to your emotions.”

Diego scoffed and Vanya’s expression went flat, “Right.”

“Did Five say anything about what might have caused it?” Ben asked.

Luther grimaced, “No, but Claire was in the room. He probably didn’t want to freak her out.”

“But you talked about the world ending,” Allison said in a flat tone.

“I don’t know. I’m still trying to wrap my head around Five being alive,” Luther grumbled.

Klaus made a noise somewhere between choking and a laugh.

All eyes immediately turned to him.

Klaus shifted awkwardly on his feet.

Claire was upstairs with Five. Allison probably wasn’t going to like that, but the nine year old had a stubborn streak a mile wide and Klaus wasn’t about to explain the whole…  _ Well… _ Time travel bullshit.

“ What is it?” Diego asked.

Klaus dropped his hands only to make a wide gesture as he spoke, “Okay, this is going to sound weird- well, not  _ that  _ weird, considering everything-”

_ “Klaus,” _ Luther pressed.

He flapped a hand at his no longer Gorilla-ified but still ridiculously tall brother, “Okay, okay okay,” He took a deep breath and let it out, scrunching his eyes shut, “Five’s not really Five,” He said quickly then blinked, “Wow, that’s not weird at all.”

His siblings stared at him like he’d grown a second head.

Oh, boy. Here we go again.

 

Claire grimaced at the bookcase and its selection of…  _ math  _ books, “Don’t you have anything to  _ read? _ ”

There was a soft snort from the bed and she looked over to see her Uncle Five wearing a tired smirk, “Not much, sorry,” He croaked.

She skulked back to the armchair with a huff, “There’s not even fairytales.”

“I thought you liked superhero stories, anyway,” He pointed out.

Claire glared at him without any heat, “Shut up.”

“You’re just grumpy they asked you to stay up here,” He added.

Claire’s scowl deepened.

Uncle Five tossed his sheets aside and stood slowly, using his IV pole to balance.

“What’re you doing?” Claire asked.

“No one said we had to stay in  _ here,” _ He said pointedly and offered her a hand.

Claire frowned at him but took it before they disappeared in a flash of blue.

 

“You wanna run that by us again?” Diego growled with raised eyebrows.

“How do you know?” Vanya asked.

Klaus tilted his head to the side in irritation, “Five’s ghost is flickering around his shoulder.”

Allison straightened,  about ready to charge off, “And you had us leave  _ Claire  _ with him?”

“It’s not like that,” Klaus waved her down, shifting over a step in case she ignored him, “She should be fine.”

“You don’t  _ know _ that, Klaus,” She protested, “You’ve been with him, maybe five minutes.”

 

Claire stumbled and grabbed at her uncle to keep them both from careening into the banister.

The half empty saline bag swung precariously from its perch as they righted themselves and sat down against the wall.

“Why her-”

Her uncle shushed her and pointed at the bannister.

“I’ve had training, Allison. I’m not just pulling this out of my ass,” Uncle Klaus said somewhere below them, “And besides, just because Five’s  _ haunting  _ him doesn’t mean he killed him.”

“He’s been pretty good with telling when someone’s lying so far,” Uncle Diego added.

Claire looked over at her Uncle Five’s grim expression and determined that maybe she could have put up with the math books. Unless, something happened in the ten minutes she spent searching for interesting reading material, there weren’t that many people they could be talking about.

“He lied about who he is!” Her mom protested. Loudly.

“We don’t know how long they had him,” Aunt Vanya pointed out quietly, “Maybe he’s not lying. Maybe he just doesn’t know.”

Claire missed whatever else she said.

Uncle Five’s expression twisted and his eyes glittered at her words. He fumbled at the tape keeping the needle in his hand in place and yanked the whole thing off.

“Uncle Five,” Claire started but he was already disappearing with a flicker of blue.

The wall clicked and scraped behind her, making her jump and whirl around as her grandfather peered out into the hall with a frown.

He furrowed his brow when he spotted her, “What on Earth are you doing out here?”

Claire swallowed awkwardly, “Uncle Five and I just wanted to know what they were talking about ‘cause he was in the apocalypse before he came back but they’re just arguing about whether or not they can trust him.”

Of all the things she’d ever said, her hanging out with one of her uncles was not one she would have thought would send someone reeling- especially given that her grandfather knew this particular uncle could time travel.

“Fievel’s alive?” Her grandfather asked. He might not have been asking  _ her _ , though.

She answered anyway, choosing to ignore the weird name for now, “I think that’s part of what they’re debating. He said there was another him in the bad place.”

He furrowed his brow, “Bad Place?”

Claire shrugged, “It’s what he called it.”

Her grandfather nodded decisively, “I’m going to make a call. I need you to check his room to see if he went there.”

“Okay,” She said loudly and scrambled to her feet before running off. 

In doing so, she missed the chaos as the siblings realized they’d had an audience.

 

Hazel was wiping down the front counter to the beat of “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by the Clash when Five showed up again. The sudden appearance of a thirteen year old at his counter was understandably unexpected, though, he might have if he'd known all the facts. 

"Jesus," Hazel hissed before glaring half-heartedly at the kid, "You couldn't have walked in like a normal person?"

Five shrugged, hands firmly pressed to his face while his elbows rested the freshly cleaned counter.

"You throw up again, you're cleaning up, pal," Hazel threatened, more to get a reaction than actually meaning it, "that was disgusting."

"Well I'm sorry I let the woman who's been trying to kill me for the past week catch me," Five remarked with a glare of his own, "it's not like I had any say in where we landed."

Hazel stepped away to get the kid a glass of water with a hum. It had been a bit longer than a week- or, actually, shorter according to Klaus. That meant this Five could actually be as old as he looked.

Hazel glanced over his shoulder at the small form huddled at the counter.

Damn. He didn't change at all.

Hazel shut off the tap and went back.

Five scrubbed the palms of his hands into his eyes before dropping them to the counter with a sigh, "Sorry," he grumbled solemnly.

Hazel set the full glass down with a quirked brow and snagged a sugar packet from one of the napkin dispensers, "What for?"

The kid gestured vaguely behind him with the hand still leaking a thin trail of blood down his arm, "Throwing up. I ate a bad Twinkie and the jump messed with my stomach."

A small smile twitched across Hazel's face as he stirred sugar into the glass, "Well, I suppose it couldn't be helped."

Five snorted as Hazel slid the glass to him and disappeared into the back.

Coming here had been completely illogical. He should be back at home working on a plan to stop the end of the world. He had no idea why he'd clung this place out of all the others.

It wasn't Hazel. Even with the strange flickering memories that weren't his, Five could only glean enough about the man to know he wasn't actively a threat.

He frowned at the glass before rolling his shoulders against the itch crawling over every inch of his skin and dropping his head back into his hands with a groan.

The truth Five wasn't willing to accept, was that during months of sneaking out to eat donuts at night with his siblings, Five had come to associate the old shop with safety. It had been a place where they could all meet, current grievances aside, and just be kids. They didn't have to save the world. 

"Here."

Five lifted his head enough to glare blearily at the glass being nudged closer alongside a band-aid and alcohol swab.

“I don’t suppose your family knows you’re here?” Hazel asked casually while Five sluggishly  peeled the first aid supplies off the counter.

The phone rang once in the office and Agnes ducked her head out before going back to whichever sibling had thought to call. Probably Ben. He was a worrier. 

Five grimaced as Hazel glanced over his shoulder at her before reluctantly meeting the man's gaze, "Can I stay here for a while?" 

Hazel nodded with a sigh and resumed cleaning up the rest of the counter, "Too many people?"

"They're deciding whether or not they can trust me," Five croaked, the shadow of a wry smile flickering on his face.

He watched Hazel wince, "Sorry to hear that."

Five hunched his shoulders in a shrug, "Can't really blame 'em. For all I know, they could be right."

Hazel frowned and drew closer, "What do you mean?"

Five turned his arm over and tugged his sleeve up so the former assassin could see his bare wrist, "Our dad had us branded two months ago- well, my two months ago."

He released the fabric, letting it slide back over the space the umbrella academy insignia should have been, "If they had the time to swap out my old body with this one, who knows what else they did? The others are worried I might hurt them and I just buried them six days ago. I don't want to do it again."

Hazel nodded slowly, frown still in place, "Wait here. I've got something you need to see."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Reginald intervenes.


	7. Under My Thumb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reginald herds cats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Under My Thumb by The Rolling Stones

Leonard hung up his phone with a sigh. He’d been hoping to actually have a conversation with Vanya before he had his first lesson, but he could make due with meeting her in person. His plan was finally coming to fruition. 

He nodded to himself with a smile and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair before heading out the door.

 

 Reginald let the phone settle back in its cradle and stared at the door to his office in resignation.

The children were still arguing in the living room- sans Allison. He could hardly make out what they were saying, but he could tell from the atmosphere that it had little to do with the Earth's impending destruction.

Reginald drew himself up and resigned himself to arguing with five adults before he thumped his cane loudly on the mezzanine floor, "Enough!"

The children's heads snapped up.

"What on Earth are you chattering about?" He called down, probably sounding a great deal more cross than he'd intended. They could put up with it. They'd upset his granddaughter.

"Uh…" Luther started, as eloquent as ever.

Reginald watched in frustrated resignation as his children shared helpless looks, "That's what I thought. You all are so focused on being right that you refuse to work together to form a solution.”

“Someone dropped Five- or a version of him, at least- at Griddy’s,” Luther said.

Reginald clenched his jaw before forcing it to relax. Of course Horace couldn’t be bothered to inform him, “I am aware of Fievel’s deal with the Temps Aeternalis.”

The children immediately erupted in a chacophane of surprised shouts. It took a moment for Luther to get the others to quiet down.

“You knew?” He snarled once he’d managed it, “How long?”

Reginald quashed down the seed of guilt his son’s tone inspired, “When I was in the head office.”

“Am I the only one confused about what this deal was?” Klaus asked with a hand raised needlessly.

“No,” Diego answered him sullenly.

Reginald heard it anyway, “It doesn’t matter now. What’s done is done. We need to focus on-”

“It matters, Dad,” Luther interrupted.

Reginald stopped with a scowl. 

“What was the deal?” Vanya asked.

Reginald sighed. He supposed he did owe them an explanation. They wouldn’t focus again until they had it, anyway.

 

The Handler let out a sigh of smoke as she surveyed the silent jungle around her. 

Troups crouched frozen mid fight among the ample undergrowth. The sandbags marking the American line she was concerned with was not ten feet to her left.

She turned with her head tilted to the side curiously, studying the line of soldiers beyond it.

The combatants around her started to inch through their actions like the air had turned to molasses. 

She paid it no mind, eyes narrowed at the space where her target would be soon. She hummed and turned to walk back the way she’d come. She’d need to consult headquarters about the changes to the timeline before she made any corrections herself. 

The reports had been wrong.

 

Far away from the Hargreeves’ residence, though still too close for comfort, old lights that had been dead for nearly sixteen years flickered to life and a rasping voice chuckled, “Wakey, wakey. The kids are home.”

A bank of computers taking up one wall of the room hummed, "Good evening, Doctor."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. Leonard.


	8. Feeling Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title: Feeling Good by Nina Simone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short because the song is short. Apologies for the wait. It took forever to find a song that fit.

Five scrubbed a hand over his face with a small sniff before pushing the letter back an inch, “Why did you show me this?”

“Before I answer that, can I ask you a question?” 

Five eyed the former assassin wearily before nodding. 

 “You care about your siblings, right?” Hazel asked, arms folded over his chest as he leaned against the ridge in front of the donut case.

Five scowled in confusion, “Of course I do. What kind of question is that?”

“Bare with me.” The man gestured for him to be patient, “Why?”

“Because-” He started to growl and stopped himself with another frown, “Because they’re assholes, but they try. I grew up with them- or at least I have the memories of growing up with them. I know what scares them and I know they care too even if one of those things that scares them is me.”

Hazel nodded as if Five had just proved his point, “I’m willing to bet you’re more afraid of what you might do to hurt them than they are.”

The teen scoffed to hide his discomfort, “That’s irrelevant.” 

Hazel quirked a brow in response, “Is it, though?”

 

**April 3, 2019**

Five watched the flames burst from the front windows of the house with hollow eyes. He shifted on his feet and shoved his hands further into the pockets of his blazer instead of sitting on the wagon he’d found. He could sit down once the fire had died down and his family’s pyre was no longer lit.

Gravel scuffed off to his left drawing him from his thoughts and back to the only other surviving human being on the planet.

“And then there were two,” Klaus said in a glum tone.

Five sent him a sharp glare but chose not to vocalize his disapproval, “Let’s go. We need to get under cover while there’s still light.”

Klaus flapped an arm in the general direction of the street they were going to take, “Lead the way, Fievel.”

Five rolled his eyes and started limping down the street, leaving Klaus to pull the wagon.

“You know, this reminds me,” Klaus started but Five tuned out the rest. 

It was a decision he would soon come to regret.

 

**Present day**

Five huffed and tugged the glass of water Hazel had given him earlier closer only for Hazel to push the damn letter back to him.

“One version of yourself trusts you,” The man pointed out, “and he was a paranoid bastard. If you can’t trust your siblings’ judgement, trust  _ that.” _

Five drew the letter back to himself with a sigh and nodded reluctantly.

A small smile flickered across Hazel’s face before he turned, “Right. I’ve got dishes to do. Don’t burn the place down.”

Five smirked into his water.

The bell above the door jingled not long after Hazel left.

“Is this seat taken?” The stool beside him creaked under the weight of its new occupant almost before he could respond. The new occupant being a man in his mid to late thirties, brown hair, eyes, and Five-o-clock shadow. His eyes widened almost comically as he took stock of his neighbor, “Oh, my god! You’re Number Five!” The man furrowed his brow, “But you’re dead.”

The teen closed his eyes before turning around with a shark-tooth grin that screamed “please kill me now” in bright red letters, “Un _ fortunately _ , the rumors of my death were  _ greatly _ exaggerated.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leonard is roughly 30 like the rest of them. Five's just grumpy 'cause he's talking.  
> Three guesses what's happens to Klaus


	9. Fleeing the Village

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long overdue explanation is given. No one is happy about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title: Fleeing the Village by Atli Örvarsson (The Eagle Soundtrack)

"What the _ Hell,  _ dad?" Luther rumbled.

Reginald sighed, "I _ did _ try to stop him."

Klaus raised his hand and spoke, making the gesture somewhat redundant, "I have a question. Why would dear little Five agree to a deal like that? What would he gain? He had to have known we could take them."

Vanya nodded and they all watched Reginald expectantly.

The old man sighed, "He agreed because the danger at the time wasn't only the Temps Aeternalis."

Luther and Diego straightened in outrage and immediately started talking over each other. Again.

Reginald held up a hand to silence them, "In traveling through time without a briefcase, Fievel accumulated a significant amount of energy, among other things. Energy which the briefcases were specifically designed to disperse safely."

His children (with the exception of Ben, Vanya, and, surprisingly, Klaus) stared at him as if he'd begun spouting poetry in Pig-Latin.

Reginald pinched the bridge of his nose, "Alright. Think of it like the static on a balloon."

Klaus raised his eyebrows in clear judgement, "Five's a balloon?"

"For this analogy, yes," Reginald agreed with growing impatience, "Every time he travels through time is like passing the balloon over a wool sweater. The more times he does it and the further he goes, the bigger the charge.  But once you get enough charge, it starts to affect the fibers."

Diego pointed one of his knives at the ceiling in a mockery of raising his hand, "I fail to see what this has to do with Five's deal."

"As he was, Fievel was starting to affect the very fabric of reality. The Temps Aeternalis knew this through careful monitoring and Fievel likely found out through his own calculations. He agreed to let them siphon off the energy into another body to prevent it from harming any of you."

"And then they killed him," Luther concluded grimly.

"So, then, next question," Diego tacked on, waving his knife in a lazy circle too close to Luther's shoulder, "Who's Five 2.0?"

"He would be the body," Reginald replied.

"A clone," Luther said.

Reginald inclined his head to the side, "Only physically. You are aware of how Fievel travels _ back _ in time, yes?"

There were several grimaces among the boys.

"Something about projecting his consciousness?" Vanya suggested.

Reginald nodded, "Precisely. A byproduct of the procedure would have been separating the Fievel of the original timeline and this one so it is most likely the boy you found at the diner is-"

" _ This _ timeline's Five," Vanya interrupted with a vague sense of horror, "And he thinks we don't trust him."

Reginald hesitated before nodding again, "If it's any consolation, he most likely _ does _ have a tracking implant so they can keep an eye on him."

"You should have _ lead _ with that." Vanya leapt to her feet and was snatching her coat from its space draped behind Klaus within two strides. Ben was on his feet a second later, following her lead.

"Where do you think you're going?" Diego asked with a frown.

Vanya stalked from the room without so much as a backwards glance.

"To get Five," Ben called over his shoulder.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to time all the shifts in mood with the tempo shifts in the music by accident. Yay! :)  
> Apologies for the wait. I got distracted.


	10. Lay All Your Love On Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hazel continues to regret his life choices.  
> Ben swears his family is trying to kill him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title: Lay All Your Love On Me by ABBA

Luther set the record playing, listening for movement as the first notes sounded. With Vanya and Ben gone to fetch Five, all that was left for the remaining Hargreeves to do was coax Claire from her uncle's room.

The nine year old had come back screaming at them for upsetting Five before storming off and locking herself inside. Not even Eudora had managed to lure her out but Luther had a back up plan.

 

Five was not deliberately tuning the guy out. Despite his many flaws, Reginald  _ had  _ taught him proper manners. The guy just kept _ talking _ . Five had started to only pick up every other word and the conversation had stopped making sense several minutes ago. 

This was what prompted him to glance at the reflection in the closest napkin holder. It was also why he was almost relieved to see the fully armed tack team headed by a snarling blonde in a suit.

Peabody didn't notice.

Five kicked him off his stool and into a portal before disappearing behind the counter himself.

Peabody yelped.

The tack team opened fire.

Five gritted his teeth and wished he was back in the apocalypse where it was quieter.

"What the Hell do they want?!" Peabody screamed.

Five scrubbed a hand over his face and grabbed a bundle of silverware instead of answering, "Stay here."

The air rippled between them and Five landed on one of the tack teams backs.

The woman cursed.

Five disappeared and tripped another of the men while they were still flailing in confusion.

"Number  _ Five!" _ The woman growled, good eye gleaming with fury.

Five barred his teeth in a grin and fell into another jump.

"I'm going to kill you, you little shit!"

Five twisted and used the force of his spin to jam a fork into the back of someone's knee. 

The man screamed and hopped away.

"Gotta catch me first," He called and disappeared again, leaving his victim to take the resulting shots in his place.

 

Claire spun to a stop with a hand on her chest, the other thrown out dramatically as she mouthed the words to the song.

She promptly dropped the pose to jump off the bed and continue with much jerkier movements.

Out in the hall, her mother danced with her aunt-to-be in something between disco and the ballroom dances Reginald made all his children learn.

Klaus twirled past singing loudly.

 

The man stumbled and toppled over backwards under Five's weight as he swung off his shoulder to slide under a booth in a flicker of blue.

He popped up beside the woman and jabbed at her knee with the spoon to get her to bend down.

She swung her handgun his way and he had to twist aside to avoid getting shot in the face.

He pulled at space and it stretched but wouldn't tear.

The woman grinned.

 

"Hold on," Ben called as he took a turn too fast.

Vanya braced herself against the door and center console, wondering why she'd let the former ghost behind the wheel.

The car accelerated as her brother wove between traffic at alarming speed considering he'd run into a pole the other week.

 On foot.

 

Five kicked the woman in the shins and dove back into the small cluster of remaining combatants with a butter-knife in his hand.

Hazel leaned out the door to the kitchen and winged Cha-Cha to keep her from going after the kid.

The scars on the right half of her face made her snarl all the more effective.

Hazel ducked and spotted the guy Five had been talking to staring at him in shock.

 

Reginald stared at Grace's offered hand in exasperation before accepting it.

She twirled toward him with a happy grin and he caught her in a dip before sending her twirling away again.

She stopped and did a sort of shrugging motion he had never in his life seen on the dance floor before sashaying toward him.

He followed her lead with a sigh. Rules were rules, after all.

If he ever caught who taught her to dance, they were getting remedial lessons.

 

Two rooms over, Diego grooved on without a care.

 

Ben shifted into park and the car skidded forward. Neither sibling waited for it to stop.

They jumped from the vehicle and ran for the store with Ben taking the lead.

The Horror writhed under his skin but stayed there as both siblings skidded to a halt just inside.

Bodies littered the floor. 

Hazel looked up from addressing someone behind the counter before another man stood with a slightly frazzled look about him and smiled at the siblings.

"He's not here," Hazel sighed, tired and possibly a bit exasperated at having to deal with  _another_ minor catastrophe connected to the Hargreeves family.

“Oh, hey. You must be the cavalry,” The man said in an unnervingly friendly tone, “Better late than never.”

Ben had the sinking feeling he’d seen this guy before even as his sister asked who he was.

The man’s smile split his face as it grew.

Cold whispers tugged at the back of Ben’s mind to be weary. To run. He brushed them away to stay at his sister’s side.

“My name’s Leonard. Leonard Peabody.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been sixteen years since everyone has seen Leonard so recollection will be a bit funky.  
> Five has absconded to quieter places. I didn't forget him, promise.  
> Hope you had fun reading! :)


End file.
